Joburg ‘serial killer' case postponed after lawyer calls in sick

Proceedings in the trial-within-a-trial were postponed to Friday after the accused's lawyer, Vuyolethu Maqetuka, called in sick.

This was revealed by State Prosecutor Leswikane Mashabela in the High Court sitting in Palm Ridge on Thursday.

"I received a call this morning at around 8 am from the accused's counsel. He informed me that he was not feeling well, and as a result, he was not able to come to court."

Mkhwanazi admitted to killing six sex workers after their partially decomposed bodies were discovered at his father Mark Khumalo's Johannesburg panel beating workshop in October 2022.

Five of the women were strangled to death, while one was shot in the head with Khumalo's 9mm pistol.

All of the deceased women were Zimbabwean nationals, and two were pregnant at the time of their deaths.

Three victims have been identified: Chihota Nyarai, Patricia Magaiza and Joyce Moyo.

The other three women remain unidentified.

However, the 22-year-old has denied raping any of the victims or that he planned the murders beforehand.

In failed plea negotiations Mkhwanazi detailed how he carried out each of the six murders, saying he was enraged when the women asked for money than what they had agreed on.

This, he says, triggered the anger he harboured from a previous rape allegation against him under similar circumstances that resulted in his arrest and a 10-month stay behind bars.

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Challenging the state's request to submit the confession he made during a conversation with his father as evidence in the main trial, Mkhwanazi said there is a material difference between the admission and the confession that deals with the state's assertion that the murders were premeditated.

In its bid to determine the admissibility of the said confession, the court has heard the evidence of the accused, his father and investigating officer Bongani Mbomambi, after Mkhwanazi claimed he was unduly influenced by his father to confess.

He claims his father recorded their conversation despite him asking Khumalo not to tape their discussion.

"He said if I don't talk, everybody is going to distance themselves from me, and no one will help me.

"According to him, he said he was helping me. He said to me that they (Khumalo and the investigating officer) will listen and see what they will do about it."

Both Khumalo and Mbonambi deny making any recordings or coercing the accused into making any confession.

Meanwhile, Mkhwanazi said even if he had not confessed to his father, he would have come clean.

Besides the charge of robbery under aggravating circumstances and all seven counts of rape and the six counts of premeditated murder, the accused also disputes one count of defeating the ends of justice.

This is because Mkhwanazi claims he left one of the six bodies where it would be easily discovered so he could end the killing spree.